Lamp harp



1 D. LEEF Oct. l, 1946.

LAMP HARP Filed arch 24, 1945 IN VEN TOR. Dn v/D Z esilBY' mi fw 4W w 4 Trop/v5 Y Patented Oct. 1, 1946 UNITED STATI-:s PATENT AOFFICE DavidPllh-nxlv. Y.l I 'l This invention relates to lamp harps and, more particularly, .to lamp harps comprising two detachably and adjustablyconnected parts, one of which is adapted to be mounted on a lamp xture and the other of which is adapted to be secured to a lamp shade.

It is an object of the invention to provide a lamp harp of the character described which' may be manufactured economically in mass production and is very easy to take apart or adjust.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lamp harp of the character described which, due to its novel construction, vwill function properly even if the stock from which it is made varies considerably in thickness.

Other' objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described and ofwhich the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims. f

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational View of a lamp fixture in which my improved adjustable, take-apart lamp harp is employed .to .carry the lamp shade; l l

Fig. 2 is a side view of said harp secured to a lamp socket;

Fig. 3 is a front vew of a shade-carrying bail which forms one` element of said harp;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through a socket-carried attaching bracket which forms the other element of said harp; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View of said bracket, taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, I have there shown a lamp xture I of conventional vconstruction comprising a base I2 having an aperture at its top end .to receive a nipple lor hollow member I4 whose upper end is threaded and screwed into atapped collar I6 in the` base part I8 of a lamp socket 20. Intermediateits ends said member is provided with a hexagonal shoulder 22 or nut to fasten together the socket and said member. Power is supplied to an electric light bulb 24 in the socket 20 by an electric cable 26 running through the member I4.

Pursuant to my invention, I rmly attach to the lamp fixture I 0, or socket base partA I8 an adjustable, take-apart lamp harp 28 of highly im- 2 claims. (Cx. 24o-ausl] proved'.construc'ztion. Aside from the shade holdingl element 30, said lamp harp essentiallycomprises only two simple parts, to Wit, a socket-carried attaching bracket 32 (Fig. 4) and a shadecarrying bail 34 (Fig. 3). y The shade holdingr element may be of any suitable construction, consisting, for example, of a swivel fixture 36 supporting aV threaded shank 38 whichL is engaged by a nial 40 or the like.

As indicated above, the bracket 32 and bail 34 are so mutually constructed that said bail can be completely detached from .the bracket or can be easily unlocked from or locked in any of several positions spaced apart parallel to` 'the axis of symmetry Vof .the bulb 24 so thatl the height of the lamp shade-,42 can be readilyV adjusted. To this end the socket-carried attaching bracketv 32 consists of a central flat bearing portionV 44 which is adapted to be held fast in conventional manner to the lamp fixture' I0 and, more particularly, to the socket base I8. Said bea-ring portion is provided with a .central through aperture 46 to permit the bracket to be slipped over the member I4 before .the socket 20 is screwed thereon whereby said bearing portion is caught between the socket collar I6 andthe shoulder'22. A

The bracket 32 also includes two upstanding arms- 48 which preferably extend integrally away from diametrially opposite parts of the' bearing portion 44. These arms are of approximately U-shaped cross-sectional configuration, as shown in Fig. 5. Intermediate portions 50, which integrally connect the arms 48 to the flat bearing portionY 44,*may` be ofany desired coni'lguration and conveniently .are angul-arly inclined, as indicated', the samel having across-sectional configuration Ywhich gradually changes from the U-shaped conguration of the arms to the flat shape of the bearing portion 40. The two arms are substantially parallel and .their open sides 1 face toward the center of the bracket. The closed sides or bases 52 of each arm have a plurality of apertures 54 provided therein, each aperture in one of said arms being horizontally registered with a matching aperture in the other arm.

Said bracket is preferably fabricated from 'sheet metal in suitable forming and punching operations, and it Will be appreciated from inspection of the drawing that this member can be made from band stock of uniform width with no waste except for the scrap cut out when punching the apertures 46, 54. The bracket is relatively easy to manufacture in mass production since the forming operations comprise mere bending, and the punching of the simply shaped aioata apertures may be carried out is done.

The shade-carrying bail 34 consists of a single piece of metal wire, or other suitable strong resilient strip material, bent into the shape illustrated in Fig. 3. Said ball includes a substantially straight top portion 56 terminating in outwardly bowed segments 58 having legs 60 whose ends 62 are out turned.' Said ends are made relatively short, their straight lengths, i. e., their lengths beyond the bends by which they are attached to the legs 60, being no greater than the depths of the U-sections of the bracket arms The ends 62 are disposed in substantial alignment.

When the bail is removed from the bracketit will assume a position (shown inv Fig. 3) in which the legs E diverge slightly away Due to the resilience of the bail said legs can be brought closer together by manually forcing the bowed segments 58 toward each other. To mount the bail on the bracket the bail ends 62 are urged toward each other suiciently t0 permit them to be inserted between the arms 48 of the bracket, Aand said ends are aligned with a set Aof horizontally registered bracket apertures E4. When the bail is released, the ends 62 will pass through said apertures and be retained therein by the resilience of the bail. If the top 56 of the bail is not at the height desired, the arms bail are squeezed together aligned with another set tered bracket apertures which are so disposed as to locate the top of the bail at the proper height. This adjustment is clearly shown in Fig. 1, wherein the full line position of the lamp shade and bail represent the highest that the lamp shade can be placed, and the dot-and-dash line posibefore any bending again and the ends 62 of horizontally registions of said elements represent the lowest thev lamp shade can be placed.

An adjustable, take-apart lamp harp must be made at an extremely low cost if it is to compete favorably with non-adjustable lamp harps, and it will therefore not be practical from an economical and commercial viewpoint to have the stock from which the bracket and bail are madesupplied within close tolerances. Accordingly, I have so designed the lamp harp that even substantial variations in the sizes of the stock will not affect the operationof the harp. With the hconstruction illustrated, slight diierences in the thickness of the bracket stock will not alter cooperation with the bail since the size and spacing oi the apertures 54 are not affected. l

To accommodate for variations in the diameter of the wire from which the bail is made, I make from the top 56..

sa of the 5 Yclosed sides of the arms of the two Walls 64, 66 of the U-shaped bracket legs 48 diverge slightly away from each other toward the center of the harp, as exaggeratedly shown in Fig. 5. A bail wire of normal diameter will snugly t against the curved bases of the U- shaped arms. A bail wire of slightly larger diameter will still be able to enter between the diverging walls of the U-shaped arms. However, instead of reachingthe bases of said arms, the bail wire will be wedged between said diverging Walls 64, 66.

The bail will not shift when the legs engage the .diverging walls since the out turned bail ends 62 are long enough to extend into the horizontally registered apertures 54 even in such position of the bail.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a lamp harp which achieves the several objects ci my invention and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. i

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invent-ion, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: i

1. An adjustable, take-apart lamp harp comprising a socket-carried attaching bracket including two upwardly extending straight arms of U-shaped cross-sectional configuration whose open sides face toward the center of the bracket, the closed sides of the arms each having a series of vertically spaced apertures therein, each of the apertures in one of saidiarms beinghorizontally registered with an aperture in the other arm, and a resilient shade-carrying bail comprising a top from which a pair of spaced straight legs depend, said legs each terminating in outwardly extending aligned projections normally spaced apart a distance greater than the distance between the the bracket, said projections being freely receivable in any pair of horizontally registered apertures and each leg at such timeV having substantially diametrically lopposite portions alongV its length bearing against said arms whereby said bail will firmly be held erect in any adjusted position thereof.

2. A lamp harp as set forth in claim l, wherein the side walls of the U-shaped bracket. arms diverge toward the center of the bracket to accommodate bails of varying .cross-sectional dimensions.

DAVD LEEF. 

